Summary
This lesson is designed to take place after completion of another K20 lesson, "Arguing With Evidence." Students will read an article from the New York Times and integrate knowledge of key terms to construct an argument based on a claim, evidence, and reasoning.
Essential Question(s)
What techniques do writers use to convince their readers?
Snapshot
Engage
Students watch a video on important issues facing young people today in order to activate prior knowledge.
Explore
Students choose writing prompts from the New York Times to serve as the topic of their argumentative essay.
Explain
Students use the Why-Lighting strategy to annotate articles chosen from the New York Times.
Extend
Students use the C-E-R strategy to begin constructing essays.
Evaluate
Students develop a five-paragraph argumentative essay with a thesis, claims, evidence, and reasoning.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
I Know, I Notice, I Wonder (attached; one per student)
C-E-R (attached; one per student)
Argument Outline (attached; one per student)
Argumentative Essay Evaluation Rubric (attached; one per student)
Computer, projector, and internet access
Student devices (Chromebook, laptop, tablet, etc.; one per student)
If devices are not available, you may print the articles for students
Highlighters (if devices are not available)
Pencils
Engage
Using the attached Lesson Slides, introduce students to the essential question on slide 3 and the objectives on slide 4.
Go to slide 5. Provide students with a copy of the attached handout, I Know, I Notice, I Wonder. To access prior knowledge, students will use a modified form of the I Notice, I Wonder strategy. Ask students to list three things they learned during the previous lesson, "Deconstructing Arguments."
Go to slide 6. Provide the instructions to students: they will complete the middle section of the handout as they watch the approximately 6-minute YouTube video, "The Greatest Issues Facing Young People." They will be writing what they notice as they watch the video, located on slide 7.
When the video is finished, go to slide 8. Have students complete the final section of the handout, writing down two things about which they still wonder. Encourage students to share what they wrote on the handout with an Elbow Partner and then ask volunteers to share with the entire class.
Explore
Go to slide 9. Pass out a laptop, tablet, or Chromebook to each student.
Explain to students that they will be constructing a written argument on a topic that they find important. They may choose any writing prompt and accompanying "New York Times" article located at http://www.tinyurl.com/arguingwithevidence.
Allow approximately 10 minutes for students to skim available topics and articles. Students will only choose one topic and accompanying article.
Instruct students they are to write on a scrap sheet of paper for 1 minute. The purpose of writing is to explain why they are choosing their article. Assure students they will not be graded on grammar or spelling, but on ideas.
After 1 minute is up, have students turn to their Elbow Partner and explain why they are choosing the specific article.
Explain
Go to slide 10. After students have each chosen a writing prompt/article, instruct them to copy and paste it into Google Docs. Students will use the Why-Lighting strategy to annotate the articles. In why-lighting, students highlight any passage they find important. They then comment on the chosen passages in the margins and explain why they chose those passages.
Allow students approximately 20 minutes to read the prompt/articles and complete why-lighting.
Extend
Go to slide 11. Pass out the C-E-R handout.
Explain to students that at the bottom of each prompt/article, there is a "STUDENTS" section with questions for student evaluation. Instruct students they are to choose three of the questions to answer. They are to write each question in the "question" section of the C-E-R handout.
Go to slide 12. Remind students that in the previous lesson, they learned the terms claim and evidence. Students are to answer each question with a claim of their own, support it with evidence from the article, and explain why in the reasoning section.
Evaluate
Go to slide 13. Students will then complete the Argument Outline handout. Remind students of the term thesis learned in the previous lesson.
Resources
200 Prompts for Argumentative Writing. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2016, from http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/04/200-prompts-for-argumentative-writing/?_r=0
K20 Center. (n.d.). Claim, evidence, reasoning (CER). Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f506fc09
K20 Center. (n.d.). Elbow partners. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/ccc07ea2d6099763c2dbc9d05b00c4b4
K20 Center. (n.d.). I notice, I wonder. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f507d1a7
K20 Center. (n.d.). Why-Lighting. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f505e7d5
Nieto, K. B. (n.d.). K20 LEARN. Retrieved July 15, 2016, from https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/lesson/1c2bb46ffdf0fed14bcbaaaf490768c9
Itsyourcalltv's channel. (2010, October 26). "The Greatest Issues Facing Young People." https://youtu.be/y59kKzzbh5U